Lamps, for example, light bulbs, halogen lamps, or the like, typically include a filament disposed in a transparent housing. The filament may include tungsten (W) or another suitable material. Some lamps may be used in process chambers for processing semiconductor wafers or other substrates, for example, in epitaxial growth (Epi) chambers, or other chambers utilizing light sources, such as rapid thermal processing chambers (RTP) or the like. The Inventors have discovered that due to the high temperatures reached by these filaments during use, the filament tends to sag as the material of the filament softens and expands at increased temperatures. The sagging filament may come into close proximity or may contact the housing of the lamp, causing the housing to weaken. Due to this weakening of the housing, the housing may burst as gases, such as halogen and inert gases, expand within the weakened housing as the lamp temperature increases. In addition to destroying the lamp, the bursting of one lamp can cause damage to or can destroy adjacent lamps as well. Although some lamps include support structures to support the filament in an attempt to prevent the filament from sagging, unfortunately, the inventors have found these support structures to be inadequate for preventing the filament from sagging and damaging the housing.
Accordingly, the inventors have provided an improved lamp to overcome at least some of the aforementioned problems.